60-second summary
Need to know how old your house is? Here’s the lowdown…
Age matters: The age of your home can influence the cost of your home insurance.
Starting point: For details on when your house was built, start with mortgage surveys, title deeds or HM Land Registry.
Local sources: If you aren’t successful, councils may have planning records, and sellers or neighbours might know the build date.
Older homes: You could use historical records, maps or architectural styles to estimate the age of your property.
How to find out when a house was built
There are a number of ways to find out the year your house was built.
Check your home survey: Look at the mortgage valuation or homebuyer survey from when you bought the property. This should give an approximate age of your home.
Check your mortgage offer: If you have a mortgage on your property, look at the original mortgage offer. It should have details about the property that may include its age.
Check the title deeds: When you buy a home, you’ll typically receive the title deeds, which detail its history including past ownership and mortgages. If you can’t find them, reach out to the solicitor or conveyancer involved in the sale for a copy.
Ask the developer: If it’s a newbuild or recent development, the developer should be able to tell you.
Contact the relevant official registry: If you can’t find your title deeds, consult the relevant official register. HM Land Registry records land ownership in England and Wales, for example, though not construction dates. For £7 per document, you can download copies of the title plan and register.
Here’s how to find out if your property is registered:
In England and Wales – HM Land Registry
In Scotland – Registers of Scotland
In Northern Ireland – Land & Property Services
Other ways to find out when your house was built
Speak to your local council: Check with your local council to see if they have records of when planning permission was granted for your house. Keep in mind that this could take a while, and that older records might be missing.
Ask the seller or an estate agent if they can confirm when the house was built. They’ll have filled in a property information form when listing, which might have the details you need.
Talk to your neighbours: If you’re stuck, try asking a neighbour as they might know the age of their home and could help shed light on yours.
How do I find out when an older house was built?
If you have an older home, there are other ways to find when your property was built, as more information is publicly available.
Check the 1862 Act Register
You can search when your house was built online through HM Land Registry’s archives. It contains information on around 2,000 properties built before 1862, which you can search for free.
Check census records
These records, taken every 10 years, could help you find when your address first appeared, though you might need to pay a small fee.
England and Wales: Search the National Archives
Scotland: Records from 1841 to 1921 are available on ScotlandsPeople
Ireland: Many records were lost in 1922 but you can still access digitised census 1901/1911 data and earlier fragments via the National Archives of Ireland website.
For assistance in your searches, see help from the National Archive on using census records.
Trawl local archives
Local councils have a wealth of archive material. Check parish records, county record offices or libraries for clues.
Look at old maps: Explore Ordnance Survey historical maps or visit Old Maps to see if you can spot your property.
Contact a local history society: Local historians often have valuable insights into local architecture which may help date your house. Check out the British Association For Local History for local history societies across the country.
See if your house is on the national heritage list: If your house is a period property, it might be listed on one of the national heritage sites:
Look at the period and style
If you can’t confirm an exact year for an older home, you might be able to come up with an approximate number, taking into account its distinctive style and character features.
Here are common features of houses from different eras which might help:
Tudor | 1480s-1603 | Exposed timber frames, steep roofs, overhanging upper floors, black and white exteriors |
Stuart | 1603-1714 | Elaborate stonework, grand entrances, high ceilings, and large fireplaces |
Georgian | 1714-1830 | Symmetrical fronts, sash windows, decorative mouldings |
Victorian | 1837-1901 | Bay windows, coloured brickwork, iron railings, tiled paths, high ceilings |
Edwardian | 1901-1914 | Built larger and wider, front porches, red brickwork |
Historic England also has more information on estimating the age of your property based on architectural features of the house.
How does the age of my property affect the cost of home insurance?
Generally, older properties are more expensive to insure due to potential structural issues and ageing plumbing, which could lead to water damage.
By contrast, newer homes, built with modern materials, typically have less wear and tear making them cheaper to insure.
Insurance providers often group houses into pricing bands based on their age, so knowing the date your house was built could potentially save you money.
FAQs
Will the age of my home affect the rebuild cost?
It might. A modern home built with standard bricks or stone is likely to cost less to rebuild than a period property with a thatched roof for example.
Older properties might also contain high-risk materials such as asbestos which may cause complications when rebuilding.
Remember, too, that the rebuild cost isn’t the same as what your house would be worth if it was put up for sale. Find out more about calculating the rebuild cost of your home.
Will the size of my house affect my home insurance?
Yes – the bigger your home, the more you’re likely to pay for your home insurance.
For example, contents insurance is likely to cost more for a five-bedroom house than for a two-bedroom home. This is because you’ll probably have more possessions to insure.
A bigger home might also be more expensive to rebuild as more materials will be needed, which could affect the price of your buildings insurance.
What else could affect the cost of my home insurance?
As well as the age, size and rebuild cost of your house, there are other factors that could affect the cost of your home insurance.
These could include:
Your postcode – local crime rates and whether your home is in an urban or rural area could have an impact on your premium
If there’s a subsidence risk
If your home is in a high-risk flood area
If it’s considered a non-standard property
Who is living in the property, such as a lodger or someone with a criminal conviction
If you’ve built up a no-claims discount
The amount of excess you’ll pay towards a claim.
See our guide to saving money on your home insurance.
Anna’s all about delivering fantastic insurance products at a great price. She cuts through the jargon and finds what’s most important and worth your hard-earned money.
Rachel’s a self-confessed money nerd who’s been writing about personal finance for more than 20 years. She spent 17 years writing for Moneywise, including a few years as Editor, and likes making complicated subjects like insurance, pensions, investing and tax, easy for people to understand.
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